Set to take over the Admissions Department this summer, new hire Jesse Roberts has specific goals about increasing enrollment.
Read more about Roberts and his new position at JC.
Roberts expresses that the students involved in an admissions cycle are in an admissions “funnel,” which divides students into three categories. The top of the funnel, and therefore the largest group, Roberts said, is comprised of “students who could be interested.” The middle of the funnel is made up of students who “are interested,” and the bottom is made up of students who “show interest [by attending an event or sending an inquiry].”
According to Roberts, the number of students in each category drops “as you move down the funnel.” Therefore, Roberts said, the ultimate goal is to increase the bottom end of the funnel, or to increase the number of students who “show interest.”
Roberts feels that making sure the brand rollout gets appropriate awareness is a way to increase the top end of the funnel. However, “using students and what kind of success they have to really tell the compelling stories about JC every day” is “how it will start.”
Also on Robert’s agenda for increasing enrollment is to have more personal communication with future students and families. It is “a two way communication between family and office to know what their interests are, to know what they bring to the table here, and see how they will best fit the JC community and how the JC community will fit them,” Roberts said.
All of these things combined, believes Roberts, will lead to a larger number of students at the bottom of the funnel. “When you tie having more people at the top of the funnel with a more personalized experience as they move along the funnel, that will give you a larger number at the bottom of the funnel [students who show interest],” Roberts said.
Roberts has no specific goals of increasing advertising in order to drive up interest. “Advertising’s part of it, but it’s really only part of the marketing mix,” Roberts said.
At the same time, “we’re going to find every avenue we can to tell the good news about JC and get our information into the hands of those people who are looking for a good high school experience,” Roberts said.
These “avenues,” according to Roberts, may include “evangelists for the JC brand. Whether that’s current students or current parents, [evangelists ] are a fantastic way to make sure the school continues to grow in message and continues to grow in the type of quality of kids who are here,” Roberts said.
In wake of the recent Cardinal Gibbons closing, Roberts said there “are students [from Gibbons] who would fit in here.” However, “an hour and half to an hour commute in the morning may not necessarily set someone up for success in their high school career,” Roberts said.
Roberts has “spoken to some folks there [ at Cardinal Gibbons about JC].”
President Richard O’Hara added, “In a different economy, we could let them come to us. We can’t do that anymore. We must go out there.”
O’Hara is confident that what Roberts brings to the table will help enrollment, especially in Robert’s ability to bring an “added strategic” view.
Collin Hoofnagle can be reached for comment at [email protected].